Looking for help with today's NYT Connections? Here are all the hints, clues, and answers for Connections #1018 on March 25, 2026.
What Is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections challenges players to group 16 words into four categories of four, finding the hidden theme that links each group. Categories are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is easiest, green is medium, blue is hard, and purple is the trickiest. You get four mistakes before the game ends.
If you enjoy word puzzles, also check out our March 24, 2026 NYT Connections #1017 hints and answers.
How to Play Connections
- Group four words that share a hidden common theme
- Start with the color you feel most confident about
- Use the shuffle button to spot patterns you may have missed
- Share your results on social media, just like Wordle
For an extra challenge, try the March 24, 2026 NYT Connections Sports Edition #547 published alongside the main puzzle.
Hints for Connections #1018 — March 25, 2026
Not ready for the full answers? Here are gentle category hints:
- 🟨 Yellow (Easiest): Think about words that mean to make something unclear or hard to see
- 🟩 Green: These are all well-known periodicals you might find at a newsstand
- 🟦 Blue: Ways you can settle a bill or transfer money to someone
- 🟪 Purple (Hardest): These look like completely ordinary words, but each one is a familiar unit of measurement with its final letter swapped — heavy wordplay involved
Today's Connections Categories — March 25, 2026
Here are the actual category names:
- 🟨 Yellow: OBFUSCATE
- 🟩 Green: MAGAZINES
- 🟦 Blue: PAYMENT METHODS
- 🟪 Purple: UNITS OF VOLUME WITH LAST LETTER CHANGED
Full answers:
- 🟨 OBFUSCATE: Blur, Cloud, Muddy, Obscure
- 🟩 MAGAZINES: Fortune, People, Spin, Time
- 🟦 PAYMENT METHODS: Cash, Charge, Check, Wire
- 🟪 UNITS OF VOLUME WITH LAST LETTER CHANGED: Cur (cup), Gallop (gallon), Ping (pint), Quark (quart)
Today's puzzle packed in some genuinely sneaky misdirection. The green category — Magazines — was the most likely source of early mistakes, because Fortune, People, Spin, and Time all function perfectly well as common everyday words. Time in particular could easily pull solvers toward the blue Payment Methods group, sitting alongside Cash and Charge with a plausible "cost" meaning. The purple category was today's true standout: Cur, Gallop, Ping, and Quark appear to have nothing in common until you realise each one is a unit of volume — cup, gallon, pint, and quart — with only the last letter changed. It's the kind of category that makes you groan once it clicks.